Quick answer

An heir’s rights generally arise at the moment of the decedent’s death, but the heir does not automatically become the exclusive owner of a particular house, lot, bank account, or vehicle. The estate must first be identified, the spouses’ property regime liquidated when applicable, valid debts and taxes paid, and the remaining estate divided under a valid will or the rules on intestate succession.

A will cannot ordinarily take away the legitime—the minimum share reserved by law—from compulsory heirs. Without a valid will, the law determines who inherits and in what proportion. The result depends on the complete family tree, proof of filiation and marriage, adoption records, prior donations, the decedent’s debts, and whether special laws apply.

The controlling rules are mainly in the Civil Code provisions on succession, the Family Code, and the Rules of Court on estate settlement.

What property is actually inherited?

Inheritance includes the decedent’s property, transmissible rights, and obligations that are not extinguished by death. The heirs’ liability for the decedent’s obligations is generally limited to the value of what they inherit.

Before computing anyone’s share:

Identify the decedent’s exclusive property.
Determine which assets were absolute-community, conjugal-partnership, or co-owned property.
Liquidate the marital property regime and separate the surviving spouse’s own net share. That share belongs to the spouse as owner, not as inheritance.
Inventory the decedent’s remaining assets and transmissible rights.
Account for valid debts, estate expenses, taxes, and appropriate deductions.
Consider lifetime donations that must be collated or reduced because they impair a compulsory heir’s legitime.
Divide only the resulting hereditary estate.

Not every death-related payment necessarily belongs to the estate. Life-insurance proceeds, SSS or GSIS benefits, retirement benefits, jointly held assets, and accounts with beneficiary designations may be governed by their contracts or special laws. The governing documents must be examined.

Who are compulsory heirs?

Compulsory heirs are persons for whom the law reserves a legitime. Depending on who survived the decedent, they may include:

Legitimate children and descendants;
In their absence, legitimate parents and ascendants;
The surviving legal spouse;
Illegitimate or nonmarital children whose filiation is duly established; and
In appropriate cases, the parents of a nonmarital child.

The groups do not always inherit together. For example, legitimate children generally exclude legitimate parents and ascendants, while the surviving spouse and nonmarital children may concur with other compulsory heirs.

A person is not a compulsory heir merely because they cared for the decedent, lived in the same home, paid expenses, held a power of attorney, or was informally promised property.

When there is a will

A will controls only to the extent allowed by law. It must be proved and allowed in the proper court before it can transfer property. The custodian of a will must deliver it to the proper court or named executor within 20 days after learning of the testator’s death. The named executor has a corresponding 20-day duty under Rule 75.

Common baseline legitimes

These are starting points for ordinary Civil Code estates. The final computation may change because of additional heirs, prior donations, representation, disinheritance, or special laws.

Compulsory heirs who survive	Reserved shares
Legitimate children only	One-half of the net hereditary estate collectively, divided equally; the other half is generally disposable
Legitimate parents or ascendants, with no legitimate descendants	One-half collectively
One legitimate child and spouse	Child: one-half; spouse: one-fourth; remaining one-fourth generally disposable
Two or more legitimate children and spouse	Children collectively receive one-half; spouse receives the same legitime as each legitimate child
Spouse and legitimate parents or ascendants	Parents/ascendants: one-half; spouse: one-fourth
Nonmarital children only	One-half collectively
Spouse and nonmarital children, without legitimate descendants or ascendants	Spouse: one-third; nonmarital children collectively: one-third
Legitimate parents or ascendants and nonmarital children	Parents/ascendants: one-half; nonmarital children collectively: one-fourth
Legitimate ascendants, spouse, and nonmarital children	Ascendants: one-half; spouse: one-eighth; nonmarital children: one-fourth
Spouse only	One-half, subject to the special rule for certain marriages solemnized in contemplation of imminent death

Under Article 176 of the Family Code, the legitime of each nonmarital child is one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child. When several categories concur, the spouse’s legitime must be protected and the aggregate shares of nonmarital children cannot exceed the available portion allowed by law.

A compulsory heir cannot be casually cut out

Disinheritance is effective only if:

It is made in a valid will;
The will states a cause expressly recognized by law; and
If the cause is denied, the other heirs prove it.

A statement such as “I leave nothing to my child because we no longer speak” is not automatically sufficient. Reconciliation may also make a prior disinheritance ineffective.

Complete, unintentional omission of a compulsory heir in the direct line—called preterition—may annul the institution of heirs, although valid devises and legacies may remain effective within the disposable portion. If an heir merely received less than the proper legitime, the usual remedy is completion or reduction of excessive dispositions.

When there is no will

Intestate succession applies when there is no will, the will is invalid, the will does not cover the entire estate, or an intended disposition fails without a substitute or applicable right of accretion.

Common intestate combinations

Survivors	General division
Legitimate children only	Equal shares
Legitimate and nonmarital children	Each legitimate child receives twice the share of each nonmarital child
Spouse and legitimate children	Spouse receives the same share as each legitimate child
Spouse, legitimate children, and nonmarital children	Count the spouse and each legitimate child as one unit, and each nonmarital child as one-half unit
Nonmarital children only, with no legitimate descendants or ascendants	Entire estate, divided among them
Spouse and nonmarital children	One-half to the spouse; one-half to the nonmarital children collectively
Legitimate parents or ascendants only	Entire estate; the nearest degree generally excludes the more remote
Spouse and legitimate parents or ascendants	One-half to the spouse; one-half to the parents or ascendants
Legitimate ascendants and nonmarital children	One-half to each group
Legitimate ascendants, spouse, and nonmarital children	One-half to ascendants; one-fourth to spouse; one-fourth to nonmarital children
Spouse only, with no siblings, nephews, or nieces entitled to concur	Entire estate
Spouse with brothers, sisters, nephews, or nieces entitled to succeed	One-half to spouse; one-half to the collateral relatives
Brothers and sisters only	Full siblings share equally; when full and half siblings concur, a full sibling generally receives twice a half sibling’s share
No closer heirs	Other collateral relatives may inherit, but intestate succession does not extend beyond the fifth collateral degree
No qualified heir	The estate may escheat to the State after judicial proceedings

These proportions apply to the net hereditary estate, not automatically to every asset registered in the decedent’s name.

Rights of particular family members

Nonmarital children

A nonmarital child is an heir of the child’s parent, but filiation must be proved. Relevant evidence may include:

A civil-registry birth record or final judgment;
An admission of filiation in a public document;
A private handwritten and signed admission by the parent;
Open and continuous possession of the status of a child; or
Other evidence allowed by the Rules of Court and special laws, including appropriate DNA evidence.

The filing periods for an action to establish filiation depend on the kind of evidence relied upon. Under Articles 172 and 175 of the Family Code, some claims may be brought during the child’s lifetime, while claims resting on secondary evidence may have to be brought during the alleged parent’s lifetime. A person whose filiation is disputed should obtain legal advice immediately, particularly if the alleged parent has died.

Grandchildren and representation

A grandchild normally does not inherit in place of a living parent who is entitled to inherit in the parent’s own right. Representation may occur when the parent:

Died before the decedent;
Is legally incapable or unworthy to inherit; or
Was validly disinherited, in which case the parent’s descendants preserve the compulsory-heir rights provided by law.

A parent who renounces an intestate inheritance generally cannot be represented by that parent’s children.

In Aquino v. Aquino, the Supreme Court held that children, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, may represent their parent in inheriting from grandparents and other direct ascendants. Filiation must still be proved. This ruling narrows the former “iron curtain” interpretation of Article 992 for succession in the direct line. Read the Supreme Court decision.

Adopted children

Under Republic Act No. 11642, an adoptee is considered the legitimate child of the adopter and has reciprocal testate and intestate succession rights with the adopter without distinction from legitimate filiation. The law also extends the created filiation to specified members of the adopter’s family.

The effect on succession involving biological relatives depends on the applicable adoption law, the type and date of adoption, any rescission, and whether a will exists. The adoption order and governing statute should be reviewed instead of relying only on the amended birth certificate.

Surviving spouse

The surviving spouse must generally have been legally married to the decedent at death. Cohabitation alone does not create intestate inheritance rights.

A common-law partner may nevertheless have:

A co-ownership share under Articles 147 or 148 of the Family Code;
Rights under a contract or beneficiary designation;
A valid devise or legacy from the disposable portion of a will; or
Reimbursement or other property claims supported by evidence.

A spouse who gave cause for a final decree of legal separation may be disqualified from intestate succession. Void marriages, putative-spouse claims, foreign divorces, and competing marriages require document-specific analysis.

Stepchildren, foster children, and in-laws

A stepchild or foster child does not inherit by intestacy merely because of the relationship or years of care. The person must usually be legally adopted or validly included in a will. Sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, and parents-in-law likewise have no automatic intestate share.

Children from different marriages

Legitimate children inherit without preference based on sex, age, birth order, or the marriage from which they were born. The eldest child does not receive a larger share merely by being the eldest.

Ownership before partition

When two or more heirs succeed, they generally own the estate in common, subject to estate debts, until partition. Each heir has an undivided hereditary interest—not automatic exclusive ownership of the asset that the heir occupies or prefers.

Consequently:

One heir generally cannot sell the whole property without the other owners’ authority;
A sale by one heir ordinarily reaches only whatever hereditary interest that seller lawfully has;
Rent, crops, and other fruits received from estate property must be accounted for;
Necessary and useful expenses may have to be reimbursed; and
Any co-heir may generally demand partition.

If an indivisible property cannot be fairly divided, it may be awarded to one heir who pays the others their shares. If an heir demands a public auction with outside bidders, Article 1086 may require that course. Partition may be restricted temporarily by a will, by a valid agreement, or by the Family Code’s protection of a family home for ten years or while a minor beneficiary resides there, unless a court finds compelling reasons.

Accepting or renouncing an inheritance

Acceptance may be express or implied by conduct. Selling or assigning hereditary rights may amount to acceptance. Once validly made, acceptance or repudiation is generally irrevocable, except where consent was legally defective or an unknown will later appears.

Renunciation should be documented carefully:

A minor’s inheritance may be repudiated only with judicial authorization.
A general gratuitous renunciation that allows the share to pass under succession rules is treated differently for tax purposes from a waiver directed in favor of a particular heir.
A selective waiver may be treated as a donation and may trigger donor’s tax.

After a court issues an order of distribution, heirs, devisees, and legatees have 30 days to signify acceptance or repudiation; silence is deemed acceptance under Article 1057.

How an estate is settled

Extrajudicial settlement

An extrajudicial settlement under Rule 74 may be used when:

The decedent left no will;
There are no outstanding debts, or the legal conditions concerning debts have been met;
All heirs agree;
All heirs are adults, or minors are represented by duly authorized legal or judicial representatives; and
Every heir is included.

The heirs execute a public instrument. A sole heir may use an affidavit of self-adjudication. The settlement must be filed with the Register of Deeds where required, published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, and accompanied by the Rule 74 bond applicable to personal property. BIR, local-government, registry, and transfer requirements must also be completed.

Publication does not cure the deliberate or accidental exclusion of an heir. Rule 74 expressly states that an extrajudicial settlement is not binding on a person who neither participated nor had notice.

Judicial settlement

Court settlement is normally appropriate when:

There is a will;
The heirs disagree;
An heir or creditor has been omitted;
Debts remain disputed or unpaid;
Filiation, marriage, adoption, ownership, or the validity of a waiver is contested;
Estate property is concealed or being dissipated;
A qualified representative for a minor or incapacitated heir is lacking; or
Administration, accounting, sale, or preservation of assets requires court supervision.

The proceeding is generally filed where the decedent resided at death. If the decedent resided abroad, venue may lie where Philippine estate property is located. The proper trial court depends partly on the estate’s value and applicable jurisdictional law.

Estate tax and transfer requirements

For deaths on or after January 1, 2018, the estate tax is generally 6% of the net taxable estate, not 6% of every asset or of each heir’s gross share. The law in force on the date of death ordinarily governs older estates.

Under the TRAIN Law and BIR Revenue Regulations No. 12-2018:

The estate-tax return is generally due within one year from death.
A meritorious extension to file may not exceed 30 days.
A return must be filed when the transfer is taxable or when the estate contains registered or registrable property requiring BIR clearance.
A gross estate exceeding ₱5 million requires the prescribed CPA-certified statement.
If cash is insufficient, approved installment or payment-extension arrangements may be available. These are not automatic and should be requested before default.
An electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration, or eCAR, is generally needed before registered assets can be transferred.

Republic Act No. 11976 now permits estate-tax returns to be filed electronically or manually through any authorized agent bank, Revenue District Office through its Revenue Collection Officer, or authorized tax-software provider, unless the Commissioner provides otherwise. See the current statutory filing rule.

The extended estate-tax amnesty filing and payment period ended in June 2025. It should not be assumed to remain open. For estates that timely availed themselves of the amnesty, BIR RMC No. 33-2026 states that proof of settlement has no separate submission deadline, although it remains necessary for eCAR processing.

Important deadlines to watch

Matter	General deadline or period
Delivering a will to the court or executor	Within 20 days after the custodian learns of the death
Liquidating absolute-community or conjugal property when no judicial estate proceeding is filed	Within six months from death; later dispositions or encumbrances of unliquidated common property may be void
Estate-tax return	Within one year from death, subject to a possible extension of up to 30 days in meritorious cases
Creditor claims in a judicial estate proceeding	Within the court’s published period, which must be at least six but not more than 12 months from first publication
Acceptance or repudiation after a court distribution order	30 days
Rule 74 protection against certain claims	Two years, but this is not a universal deadline for every omitted heir or every action

The Rule 74 two-year period generally applies only where the settlement complied strictly with the rule and the affected person participated or had notice. An excluded heir may have a different action and prescriptive period depending on fraud, registration, possession, repudiation of co-ownership, and the relief sought. Do not wait for the second anniversary before seeking advice.

Evidence to preserve

Secure originals or certified copies where possible:

PSA death, birth, and marriage certificates;
Adoption orders, certificates, and rescission records;
The original will, codicils, envelopes, and information about witnesses;
Land titles, tax declarations, deeds, surveys, and condominium documents;
Vehicle registrations and corporate stock records;
Bank, investment, pension, insurance, and digital-asset records;
Loan agreements, mortgages, receipts, tax returns, and proof of payment;
Marriage settlements and documents showing the spouses’ property regime;
Deeds of donation, waivers, prior partitions, and sales;
Evidence of filiation, including signed admissions, correspondence, photographs, support records, and appropriate DNA evidence;
Proof of expenses paid for the estate and income received from estate property;
Messages or notices showing who knew of an extrajudicial settlement; and
Photographs and inventories documenting the condition of property at death.

Preserve electronic files with their metadata. Do not alter the original will, remove pages, backdate documents, or sign a blank settlement or waiver.

Common mistakes

Dividing the whole marital property as though it all belonged to the deceased;
Assuming that the person named on a title is necessarily the sole beneficial owner;
Using self-adjudication when another heir exists;
Excluding a nonmarital or adopted child without checking filiation or adoption records;
Treating payment of estate tax as proof of heirship or ownership;
Selling a specific estate asset before debts, taxes, and co-heirs’ rights are settled;
Believing newspaper publication alone binds an omitted heir;
Using a generic waiver without considering donor’s tax;
Ignoring lifetime donations that may affect legitimes;
Withdrawing, concealing, or spending estate funds without an accounting;
Assuming that a handwritten note is automatically a valid will; and
Waiting until property is transferred to third parties before objecting.

When legal help is urgent

Consult a Philippine succession lawyer promptly if:

Someone is hiding, destroying, or refusing to deliver a will;
An heir is being pressured to sign a waiver or deed;
Property is about to be sold, mortgaged, withdrawn, or transferred;
An heir was omitted from an affidavit of self-adjudication or extrajudicial settlement;
Filiation, adoption, marriage, or the decedent’s nationality is disputed;
There are competing spouses or families;
The six-month marital-property or one-year estate-tax deadline is approaching;
A court has issued a notice to creditors or distribution order;
The estate includes a business, substantial debts, foreign assets, or property under several marriages; or
Fraud, forgery, undue influence, incapacity, or unworthiness is alleged.

Qualified indigent parties may ask the Public Attorney’s Office whether they meet its requirements for assistance.

Special-law and cross-border exceptions

The Civil Code tables above should not be applied mechanically to every estate.

The Code of Muslim Personal Laws contains a different system of fixed sharers, residuaries, distant kindred, wills, and estate settlement for deceased Muslims. Shari’a District Courts have exclusive original jurisdiction over covered estate cases.

The decedent’s nationality may also affect succession. Article 16 of the Civil Code generally refers intestate and testamentary succession—including the order of succession, amount of successional rights, and intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions—to the decedent’s national law. Philippine land, foreign wills, dual citizenship, foreign divorce, and assets in several countries require coordinated advice in the relevant jurisdictions.

Frequently asked questions

Can a parent leave everything to only one child?

Only within legal limits. A parent may favor one child from the disposable portion, but cannot ordinarily deprive other compulsory heirs of their legitimes without valid disinheritance.

Does the eldest child receive the family home?

No automatic right exists based on birth order. The home forms part of the estate or marital property and must be dealt with under the property, succession, family-home, and partition rules.

Can one heir live in the inherited house without paying the others?

Occupancy alone does not make that heir the sole owner. Whether rent or accounting is due depends on consent, exclusion of co-heirs, expenses paid, and the property’s use. A co-heir who exclusively collects rent or other income must generally account for it.

Can one heir sell inherited land without the others?

An heir may attempt to transfer that heir’s undivided hereditary interest, but ordinarily cannot sell the entire property or the other heirs’ shares. A buyer takes significant risk while the estate remains unsettled.

Are grandchildren always heirs?

No. They commonly inherit by representation when their parent predeceased the decedent, was unworthy, or was validly disinherited. They normally do not replace a living parent who inherits in the parent’s own right, and they cannot represent a parent who renounced an intestate share.

Does a common-law partner inherit automatically?

No. Cohabitation alone creates no intestate share. The partner may still have co-ownership, contract, beneficiary, reimbursement, or valid testamentary rights.

Can heirs inherit the decedent’s debts?

The estate must pay valid obligations before distribution. Heirs are generally not personally liable beyond the value of the inheritance received, although an heir’s own contracts, guarantees, wrongdoing, or premature distribution may create separate liability.

Does paying estate tax settle the estate?

No. Tax compliance, determination of heirship, probate, partition, and transfer of title are separate matters. An eCAR does not cure an invalid will, omitted heir, forged deed, or defective settlement.

Is an extrajudicial settlement always faster?

Only when every legal condition is satisfied and all heirs genuinely agree. If heirship, debts, ownership, or consent is uncertain, forcing an extrajudicial settlement may create a more expensive dispute later.

Official sources

This article provides general Philippine legal information, not legal or tax advice for a particular estate. Shares and remedies can change materially based on the death date, family records, property regime, will, donations, debts, nationality, and procedural history. Sources and procedures were checked as of August 5, 2026.